Documents: Argyle mayor accused of discrimination, harassment

ARGYLE — Two women have filed complaints
with the state against the town of Argyle, accusing the mayor of gender
discrimination and sexual harassment, including “inappropriate and unwelcomed
physical gestures,” according to state documents.

Both filed U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC) complaints with the Texas Workforce Commission in
early January in response to the alleged workplace harassment.

According to the documents, both women
allege that Mayor Matt Smith harassed them and demoted them without fair
reason.

Smith said the claims being made by the
two women are unsupported, vindictive and political because of the upcoming May
election.

“There’s no record of any complaints
anywhere,” Smith said. “It’s all fabricated and they’re trying to sabotage me.
I will take a polygraph tomorrow if I have to.”

Smith said Monday that he would not seek
re-election, citing family issues. As of last fall, the mayor had indicated
plans to seek re-election.

Carissa Finney, a former employee who
filed one of the complaints, said she resigned from her position because Smith
intimidated her repeatedly.

Finney worked as an administrative
assistant and permit clerk and said she hopes to have her job reinstated.

“I loved my job and the people I worked
with,” she said. “It would be nice to have it back.”

Last fall, during a period in which the
Town Council appointed Smith as interim town manager, Finney said, Smith
bullied her and retaliated against her by demoting her when she did not yield
to his demands.

“From the day he got elected, we have
been subjected to his childish antics,” Finney said. “And no one will speak up
against him because they’re afraid of losing their jobs if they tell the
truth.”

She said Smith tried to persuade her to
dig into her co-workers’ lives to gather information on any activities the
employees engage in outside of work that could get them into trouble.

“He even called me at night when I was
at home. When I wouldn’t do that for him, he retaliated against me,” Finney
said. “When I told him no, the sexual harassment escalated.”

Finney quit in November 2012, saying
that Town Hall became a hostile environment because of Smith.

In response to an open records request,
the town released copies of the two complaints, although the name of one
complainant was withheld. According to the documents, that person, who held the
human resource officer and town secretary titles, reported being unfairly
demoted to only town secretary.

“There were no demotions,” Smith said.
“[The employees] said there was too much on their plate to perform their jobs,
so we shifted the job duties. There is no truth to what they’re saying. They
have no proof.”

The
complaint

Ever since the two parties filed their
complaints, Town Manager Charles West said, it is business as usual in regard
to daily town operations.

“Business at Town Hall has not changed,
and these complaints have had no effect on us at Town Hall,” he said.

But that could change depending on the
outcome of the investigation and how the situation is resolved.

“The town has agreed to participate in
the EEOC mediation process,” Town Attorney Matthew Boyle said. “We are hopeful
that a mutually agreeable outcome can be achieved through the EEOC mediation
process.”

According to an EEOC spokeswoman, the
mediation process involves EEOC representatives attempting to help the
employees and the employer reach a voluntary settlement.

The mediation allows both parties to
talk about their concerns and suggest ways to solve problems and disagreements,
the spokeswoman stated.

Finney said she wants Smith to be held
accountable for his actions.

“He needs to see that he can’t get away
with doing what’s he doing to the town employees,” she said.

If an employer refuses to cooperate with
an EEOC investigation, the EEOC can issue an administrative subpoena to obtain
documents, testimony or gain access to facilities and a lawsuit could be filed,
which is a last resort.

The spokeswoman said charges usually are
settled within three months through mediation compared with more than six
months of investigation that result from disagreement between two parties.

Recent events

The complaints are one chapter in a
series of controversial events that have hit the town since fall and after
former Town Manager Lyle Dresher retired in March 2012.

The town hired Rod Hogan to serve as
interim town manager until a permanent replacement was found. However, the
council voted to end his contract prematurely after council members said his
performance was unsatisfactory.

In October 2012, the council appointed
Smith as interim town manager with a 3-2 vote.

Council member Bonny Haynes, who opposed
the appointment, said the idea to appoint Smith as interim town manager was
never discussed prior to that meeting.

After Smith’s appointment, Haynes said
she believed he wanted the appointment so he could have more administrative
control over the employees.

“He wanted to get appointed as quickly
as he could,” Finney said. “He wanted to make sure he could take his
retaliation out on some of the employees.”

But Smith said it was to allow for
smoother daily operation until a town manager was hired.

At the same meeting, however, after
Smith’s appointment, Financial Director Kim Collins came under fire by Smith
and Mayor Pro Tem Joey Hasty, each of whom accusing her of using unbudgeted
funds to finance a retirement party for Dresher.

The council took no action against
Collins and the accusations haven’t been brought up since.

After addressing Collins, Smith and
Hasty publicly criticized Town Secretary Codi Delcambre’s job performance.
According to the meeting’s agenda, the council was to discuss Delcambre’s
duties and possible termination.

Fearful of losing her job, Delcambre
hired a Denton-based attorney who argued that the council had no grounds to
fire Delcambre.

Smith argued he had no intention to fire
Delcambre, even though the agenda listed termination as a possible outcome.

Smith and Hasty said Delcambre was not
performing her required duties, but the remaining council members said they had
never heard of the complaints about Delcambre’s performance until that meeting.

Smith said Delcambre failed to perform
her duties as town secretary. However, no documentation was presented to
support his claims.

Hasty moved to place a disciplinary
letter in Delcambre’s file, but he failed to get the second his motion needed
to hold a vote.

Smith said the EEOC complaints stem from
the events that occurred during that October meeting.

Smith’s
history

Controversy has followed Smith since he
took office in 2011 and before.

Records show that in January 2011, four
months before being elected as mayor, Smith was arrested in Flower Mound and
charged with driving while intoxicated. He was placed on probation for 20
months and ordered to complete 50 hours of community service, according to
documents from the Denton County clerk’s office.

In previous years, Smith was jailed for
various misdemeanor charges including assault, deadly conduct and criminal
mischief, according to county court records.

In 1995, he was charged with misdemeanor
deadly conduct and was ordered to spend 90 days in Denton County Jail and six
months on probation and perform 20 hours of community service, according to
court records.

In July 1996, Smith was charged with
misdemeanor assault and confined to 120 days in jail and given 22 months of
probation, according to court records.

Ten months later, Smith was charged with
misdemeanor assault and bodily injury. According to Argyle police reports,
officers were dispatched in reference to a domestic dispute.

Those records reflect that one witness
told police officers that Smith was “drunk and out of control.” According to a
police report, Smith physically attacked his sister, who had a swollen right
eye.

Court records show that Smith was
ordered to go to drug and alcohol counseling and enter an anger management
program.

Smith, who was in his 20s during the
1990s, says he recognized his mistakes and says that he was young but has since
changed.

“Every complaint against me is a
personal attack because they see me as an easy target because of my history,”
Smith said. “It’s all petty and childish.”

DentonRC.com is now using Facebook Comments. To post a comment, log into Facebook and then add your comment below. Your comment is subject to Facebook's Privacy Policy and Terms of Service on data use. If you don't want your comment to appear on Facebook, uncheck the 'Post to Facebook' box. To find out more, read the FAQ .